Scenery, Drabble Collection
by BlueberryToasterTart
Summary: This is (or will be) a collection of shorts and drabbles set in my "A Change of Scenery" world. Modern Au. Hiccstrid. No obvious plot spoilers. Rating may change. Rating might not change.
1. Where You Go, I'll Follow

A/N - Someone asked me today if I planned on added shorts/drabbles to my Change of Scenery universe, and this popped out. I didn't plan on writing it tonight, but it happened. These drabbles are all set in the world of my "A Change of Scenery" story. It's on here somewhere. It's a modern AU Hiccstrid.

I've got several shorts planned out, but I'm a busy person here of late and I make no promises as to when this will be updated. I've got two others stories I'm working on, one novel I'm trying to finish, work, and grad school. I'm a busy bee. I did dump my boyfriend so I've freed up that much more time, haha.

X

Thunder cracked. Astrid woke up to the sound of the sky bursting and held onto the blanket. Why did the springtime have to be so noisy and violent? Through the window the lightning flashed and thunder followed only a moment behind. The thick of the storm would be on them soon. Astrid peered at the digital alarm she'd bought, but the space on the nightstand was blank. The entire building oozed with the same too-early morning disquiet of a power outage.

Sighing, Astrid rolled over onto her other side. Lightning brightened the room and highlighted Hiccup's profile. How could he sleep through this? In the short silence between the thunder she could hear his gentle snoring.

 _CRAAACK_.

 _Pit. Pit. Pat. Pit-pat._

Astrid had no sooner gasped from the thunder's sudden hammer when the rain started, smothering the window with constant drops. It waterfalled from the gutters and splashed down the building's side. Astrid scooted away from her warm spot in the bed to be next to Hiccup. She nestled between his arm and his chest. He hummed in his sleep and sighed into her hair, but did not wake.

Next to his beating heart, the thunder became distant. The rain pounded and beat but she didn't care if it flooded. They were far from the street. They would float on the bed forever.

Astrid woke next to the feeling of warm, chapped lips against her forehead. Her eyes fluttered open as Hiccup moved, leaving soft kisses down the side of her face and ending at her jaw.

"Good morning," he said to her cheek.

"Hey," Astrid hummed. She felt so warm in his arms.

She rolled in his arm as his lips met hers.

"What do you have planned for this wonderful Monday morning?" Hiccup said against her mouth. He moved to her cheek and began to trail her jaw with his lips.

"Oh, you know, I thought I'd clean a little, do some laundry." Astrid ran a hand through his unwashed hair. "I notice you're wearing the same underwear that you wore yesterday."

"You'd rather I didn't?" Hiccup asked with that beautiful smirk of his.

Astrid laughed. "Nah, I just put these sheets on."

Hiccup nuzzled her neck and found that sensitive spot near her ear, but instead of kisses, he tickled her with his two-day beard. She laughed and giggled and tried to roll out of his grip, but he followed her. They wrestled until the edge of the bed drew closer, and it was called a truce.

"So, coffee?" Astrid asked.

"Yeah, sounds good."

Astrid rolled out of bed and tucked her feet into the leather moccasins Hiccup had gotten her as a Christmas gift after she complained about her feet being cold. She thought it was more because she would use him as a foot-warmer at night. She padded into the kitchen and readied the percolator while Hiccup trotted into the bathroom. He nudged the door closed but it lingered ajar.

"Oh, I've got a few places I want you to look at," Astrid said to the bathroom door. Hiccup hummed in response. While he was busy and the coffee percolated, she arranged her notes on the coffee table. She sat on the couch until he finished, and slunk to the couch and sat beside her.

"What do you got?" Hiccup yawned.

"Okay," Astrid put her hands out to him, knowing he wasn't quite as awake as she'd like him to be. "This first one is just outside of town. It's a newer complex so it's a little more expensive, but it's also updated and well laid out."

Astrid pointed to a note-book paper with a crudely drawn apartment layout and a list of pros and cons. Hiccup eyeballed it lazily.

"It's nice, and I like the half-bath," Astrid said. "But it's a little farther drive. The neighbor is good, there's some undeveloped forest on two sides and a subdivision on the other."

"Okay," Hiccup nodded.

"This one is on the other side of town, on the other side of the mall," Astrid said while looking for any sort of reaction. So far he'd been greatly indifferent. "It's not as big, just one more room bigger than what we've got, but they have been recently updated. And there's a washer and dryer _in_ the apartment. I like that."

"Okay," Hiccup nodded.

"Okay, this last one is not an apartment." Astrid waited for anything of a reaction. When she didn't get one she continued, "It's a two bedroom house out in that subdivision on the other side of Denny's. You know the one I'm talking about? It's kind of a suburb, as in there are rules about lawn decorations and loud noise. They frown on college kids moving in, so it's mostly young families and older couples."

"A house would be a lot more work," Hiccup said. "A lawn would need a lawnmower. And when something broke we'd have to fix it ourselves."

"Yes," Astrid nodded. The percolated began to fit. The apartment smelled like coffee, and she knew he'd need a cup if she wanted constructive input. She padded him on the knee, "I'll get coffee."

She left him with her detailed notes as she made them each a cup. She took her time, giving him ample opportunity to find one he liked. When she returned to the table, he held the notes for the house in his hands.

"What do you think?" Astrid asked, sitting down. She placed his coffee on the table.

"Do you want to live in a house?" Hiccup asked.

"I don't know, it was just another option." She sipped her coffee. "I mean, we're not in a hurry. We don't _need_ another place to live."

"If the air goes out, we'll be looking for one," Hiccup smirked. He sipped his coffee.

Astrid half-laughed. In the past four years, the boiler had been replaced twice and the air continuing unit had been worked on at least ten times. Their refrigerator had gone out and left them eating out every night until the landlord bought a new one, the cheapest one she could find. The building had seen it's fair share of use and the fixtures were showing their age.

"How much are all of these?" Hiccup asked, half-heartedly.

"The rent is at the bottom." Astrid pointed with her index finger. "None are really out of the budget."

"Yeah," Hiccup sighed.

Astrid sipped her coffee and watched him finger the paper. He read her notes, but his eyes were somewhere else entirely.

"Hiccup, are you okay?" Astrid asked. "These are just ideas, I'm not saying we have to move out tomorrow. We don't have to go anywhere if you don't want to."

Hiccup sighed and set the paper down. His brow came together and he bit his lip. He put a hand to his chin and fumbled words came out in a soft sigh.

"Hiccup, what's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong," Hiccup said with a smile. He reached for her knee. "I, uh, got a job offer."

"When?" Astrid asked, gripping her cup. "That's amazing!"

"It was Friday when you went with Heather to that yoga class."

"Where is it?"

Hiccup bit his lip.

"Where is it?" she repeated, slower.

"Augusta," he said with his eyes on the floor.

She blinked. "Maine?"

"Yeah."

There was a moment when she wanted to throw confetti for him. One month out of school and he'd already landed a job. But his downcast face told her there was more to it.

"It's too close to home?" Astrid asked.

"Yes, and no. It's a good job, starting out at fifty a year."

"Really?" Astrid clasped a hand over her mouth. "That's great!"

"I know," Hiccup nodded. "I want to take it, but I don't. It is close to home and I don't know why that bothers me."

"Even if you do take it, that doesn't mean you have to stay with that job forever."

"I know."

Astrid took a long drink of her coffee and Hiccup did the same. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know. The guy that called said they'd call back on Monday for my answer. He knows my father, I guess."

"Oh," Astrid said. "Are you worried he'll expect more from you?"

"I don't know, he said that he went to college with my father, whatever that means." Hiccup looked down into his cup. "It's just…if I take that job I'd have to move up there."

" _We'd_ have to move up there," Astrid corrected and squeezed his hand.

Hiccup smiled. "I wouldn't make you do that,"

"Are you kidding? Hiccup, we're a team. If you go, I go."

He smiled. "Thank you. So you wouldn't be mad if I took it?"

"No," Astrid shook her head. "I thought Maine was great. The people were nice and I love sweater weather. Besides, living in a college town is weird if you're not in college."

Hiccup laughed. "You'd have to find another job."

Astrid shrugged. That was true. Doubtful that she'd find another job like the one she had at Rachel's. She knew Alvin added to her paycheck. No other boss would. "But, that's okay if you're making fifty a year."

"Oh?" Hiccup raised a brow.

"Yeah, that way I can focus more on the important things, like cleaning and cooking and keeping my love happy." Astrid leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

"So it's okay?" Hiccup asked again. "We're doing this?"

"We're doing this." Astrid nodded.


	2. Hair

A rut. There was no other word for it.

Astrid sat on their new blue armchair, the only piece of furniture they'd bought since the move, with her forehead plastered against the chilled window. The sun had vanished behind the thick gray clouds, again, and a winter breeze whistled through the changing leaves. It was a beautiful autumn scene, and it would have been much more attractive if she were in a better mood.

Hiccup still had four hours before he would be home.

Astrid sighed and her breath fogged up the glass. She didn't like Maine very much at all. Hiccup worked over nearly every night, not getting home until six or seven, and she had stopped making dinner. After the first few weeks of waiting for him at five thirty only to be disappointed and staring over their small plastic kitchen table as her food cooled, she stopped putting herself in that position altogether. She'd eaten out more and she felt it in her jeans.

Hiccup probably noticed. Was that why he worked over? Was there a cute, skinny girl in the next cubicle or down the hall?

Astrid inhaled sharply and leaned away from the glass. She'd been here nearly four months and had yet to make a new friend. She tried when she went shopping but no one seemed the least bit interested in meeting someone knew. She didn't share their accent, Hiccup had commented.

She wasn't like them. Different. Foreign. A stranger.

Of course, if it hadn't been for Heather she wouldn't have made many friends at all.

She sighed. She missed Heather. After graduation she had moved to New York for a while, spent a month in Paris with a girl she'd met, then came running back when that relationship had gone sour. The last Astrid knew, Heather lived in Chicago with a new boyfriend. She had such an adventurous life.

Astrid reached for her phone, just out of her comfortable perch. Her thumb quickly swished and swiped until Heather's name popped up.

 _What's up?_ She waited until the phone screen darkened.

Heather worked at the Art Institute. She, like Hiccup, had other things to do than sit around her apartment.

Astrid groaned and let the phone slide out of her hand and to the floor. She'd applied for several jobs, but none of them had bitten. Apparently, a degree didn't get her that far. At least, Hiccup had said, she didn't have student loan dept to worry about. He had another two months before he would start paying on his.

Hiccup paid for the apartment. Hiccup paid her car insurance and bought the gas. He bought the groceries. He paid her phone bill.

"What about your health insurance?" Hiccup had asked when her funds had run dry.

"I don't have any." She'd crossed her arms.

"You know that's bad, right?" Hiccup raised a brow. "What if you get sick or something and I have to take you to the doctor or the emergency room? They'll kick you out."

She shrugged. "I'll be fine. I'll wash my hands extra this winter."

Alvin had always taken care of that. He had his network and he'd taken care of her. She was on her own now. And she was failing.

Her phone beeped and she raced to it. Heather's name glowed across the screen.

 _I'm taking a sick day. A bug brought me down._

 _Sorry to hear that_. Astrid watched her little message float up, and then added another, grateful for someone else to talk to. _Anything new?_

 _Josh wants to go to law school. He's worse than I was. Yesterday he wanted to be a chef._

Astrid smiled without knowing it. She wished that Heather had moved with her, or she with Heather. She missed her bittersweet company and her bright honesty.

 _At least lawyers are rich._

 _True, I've always wanted a yacht. How goes it with you and your man?_

Her thumb hesitated over the keys. No immediate response came. _Good_.

 _Was that hesitation?_

Astrid shook her head. Even in a text, Heather saw through her. _I don't see him much anymore. He's always working and I'm always sitting at home. I'm getting fat._

 _Haha, it would take a lot to make you fat. You could join a gym, meet some people._

She could. _I'd have to ask Hiccup for the money._

 _And…you don't want to?_

 _No!_ Astrid had huffed, and the sound in the quiet apartment made her feel silly.

 _I take it the job hunt isn't going so well?_

 _No. I had an interview about a month ago, but the manager was a total bitch. She kept glaring and being snippy. She said being a waitress wasn't a skill, and I might have said something like 'being a bitch isn't either' and I didn't get the job._

 _Yeah…you might not want to insult the person hiring you._

Astrid sighed. It seemed that everyone in Maine acted that way. Too good to associate with a girl like her.

 _You know what you need?_

 _What?_

 _A change. Why not do something different with your hair? Or just get it done? It always makes me feel like a million bucks._

Astrid glanced out of the window to the shops down the street. _Maybe_.

X

"I have a hair appointment tomorrow," Astrid announced as Hiccup ate a meager dinner, tacos he'd picked up on his way home. He had gotten used to no dinner, too.

"Oh?" he said with a mouthful.

"I'm not sure what I'm doing yet," Astrid hummed, pulling on a loose strand of hair.

Hiccup swallowed and his entire throat moved. He licked his lip. "Are you going to dye it?"

"I don't know," Astrid said. She imagined a different color in the strand between her fingers, maybe a chestnut or strawberry blonde or something in between.

"Don't." Hiccup's blunt tone surprised her. His eyes held hers for a moment and he added, "I like the color it is."

"Oh?" Astrid let go of the strand. He'd never said that before.

"Yeah," he nodded. He took a large bite from his fast-food taco. "It's pretty."

She ran her tongue over her teeth. "How was work?"

He groaned. "The same. A lot of Excel. I thought there'd be more computers involved, you know? I feel like all I do is sit at the desk. I'm a paper-pusher."

Astrid smiled. Even when down, tired, and defeated he still looked adorable.

"I don't know," Hiccup said when his taco was gone. "I've just been thinking…"

"What?" She asked.

He sighed. For a moment she saw a glimmer of fear in his eye. He shook his head. "It's nothing, don't worry about it."

She frowned. "Well, of course I'm going to worry about it now."

Hiccup sighed heavily. "I've been thinking…maybe this wasn't the right choice."

Silence magnified the movement of their downstairs neighbor. A car drove by with a thumping bass. Somewhere in the distance a siren blared.

"Is it that bad?" Astrid asked, trying to maintain a calm exterior for his sake.

"It's not the job I thought. It's boring and all the people there are…I don't like them. It's like they are going out of their way to make me feel unwanted. They've already got their friends, they don't need another one." Hiccup held a second taco in his hand, still wrapped, and he set it down on the table.

Astrid nearly tripped on the table leg as she pounced from her seat and landed awkwardly in Hiccup's arms. He'd barely thrown them up in time to catch her. She threw her arms around him and hugged him as tight as she could. Their grip didn't hold and her knees hit the floor. She grip his shirt as she looked up at him.

"We don't have to stay here," she said.

"Then what will we do?" Hiccup said. "I can't just quite…we can't afford that. I-I don't know what to do."

"We'll figure it out, babe." Astrid leaned in closer and snaked her arms around him. "Wherever you want to go, I'll follow."

A brief, kind smile stretch along his tired face and his youthful brightness returned, only to be quenched by his exhaustion. He leaned forward and touched her face, placing his forehead against hers.

"I love you, Astrid." He kissed her.

"I love you, too." She smiled against his greasy lips. His breath smelled like tacos.

X

Astrid half-ran back to the apartment to keep out of the rain. Her shoes were soaked and the water seeped into her socks, squishing as she ran. The newspaper she held above her head quickly disintegrated. By the time she reached the foyer of the apartment building the paper had turned to gray mush. She dropped it outside.

She shook as she mounted the stairs and carefully stepped up to their floor. Everything was soaked. Once inside her apartment she shed her wet jacket and kicked off her wet shoes and pulled the sloppy socks from her cold feet.

"Oh, wow," Hiccup's voice started her.

"Shit!" She fell against the door and slipped in the growing puddle at her feet.

"Are you alright?" Hiccup rushed over. He wore his pajamas and a sweatshirt.

"I'm fine," Astrid said as she gripped his extended hand. Her heart raced. "What are you doing home? Did you quite? Did you get fired?"

"No, no, I, uh…got sick this morning."

Astrid withdrew her hand from his.

"No, I'm pretty sure it was food poisoning." He half-laughed. His smiled widened. "You hair looks nice."

"Oh, thank you," Astrid said. She'd nearly forgotten. She brought hands up to her shortened hair. "It looked a lot nicer before it got rained on."

"I think it looks good," Hiccup smiled. He stepped over to kiss her on the cheek.

Astrid discarded her wet clothes in the bathroom to dry. She stopped at the vanity to see the damage of the rain water on her hair. It had been a quick decision and one that she still felt uncertain about. Her long locks now ended just past her shoulder and had been done up in curls that she could never produce on her own. Thanks to the gallon of spray, many of them still remained.

"What's up?" Hiccup asked from the bathroom doorway.

"It's different," Astrid said, both hands in her hair.

"That's what you wanted, isn't it?" He asked. She could see him on the edge of the mirror. His eyes weren't on her hair, but her unclothed backside. He probably wondered when it had gotten bigger.

"I suppose it was," Astrid said to her reflection more than to him. "It will just take some getting used to."

His eyes moved when she moved.

"Are you going to pretend like you weren't staring?" Astrid smiled.

"What?" He shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Mm-hm," Astrid touched his face.

His smile quickly evaporated and rough hands grabbed her waist and half-lifted her into the hallway.

"Hey," Astrid began to complain, but he shut himself into the bathroom.

"Sorry!" Hiccup shouted on the other side. "Food poisoning!"

She sighed and stepped into the bedroom for fresh, dry clothes that weren't covered in tiny hairs.


	3. Brussels Sprouts

A/N - I know I've got other stories. I'm hitting a dry spell recently. I won't abandon those, don't worry, but it seems like I can write a two page drabble with ease while I'm beating my head against a wall trying to write a chapter. Writing Rule #1 - When writing stops being fun, take a break.

X

Astrid dumped the Brussels spouts and carrots into the dish and carefully opened the oven. Heat washed out and hit her face. She squinted through it to slide the pan inside. The door slipped from her grasp and snapped shut. She tossed the potholder onto the counter and poked the chicken in the microwave. Almost. She closed the door and added five minutes to the timer.

While dinner cooked, she resumed her vigorous cardio in the living room. Two weeks of this and she'd already knocked off six of those extra ten pounds and planned to erase another five if she could. Or, she could keep this up and get ride of that pesky flab she'd accumulated since quitting track.

It had been two weeks ago Sunday she'd tried on an older pair of jeans and couldn't button them without pain, and a serious muffin-top.

Hiccup, the dear, had shrugged it off. "It's just a couple of pounds, Astrid. It's not like you can't walk through doorways anymore."

The thought had given her a shiver. Her reflection in the mirror suddenly changed, her waist enlarged and her legs like massive tree trunks. She shook the image and her puffy belly in her too-tight jeans returned.

Hiccup leaned in the doorway. "You're still beautiful. You'd still be beautiful if you gained a hundred pounds. Just a little chubbier."

She shot him a woeful glance. "Funny how skinny people tell fat people not to worry about their weight."

Hiccup had smiled, "You're not fat, babe."

She'd pouted and pulled the blasted jeans off and settled for sweatpants.

She'd found ways to make vegetables editable on the internet, by smothering them in butter and seasonings, and baking them. She spent a long while in the living room every day, pumping and stretching and sweating. Their downstairs neighbor hadn't complained. They probably thought she's lost it.

The timer on the microwaves beeped. Astrid finished her rep first. The muscles in her torso burned and whined but she refused to stop. At last she gave out and her legs crumpled underneath her. Her bottom thumped on the floor.

The chicken was done and she popped the pieces into the baking veggies. They smelled fantastic and her stomach rumbled. She used this time to wash the dishes, then returned to her workout. Four more pounds, she told herself. Four more.

Hiccup arrived home on time for the first time in a while, and of course dinner still sit in the oven and her rear end stuck up in a downward-dog. Without hesitation, his hand collided playfully with her rear and he scooted into the bedroom before she could react. She dropped and jumped up to her feet.

"That smells great," Hiccup said as he pulled a sweatshirt over his bare torso. His hips bones stuck out from the waistband of his boxers, and Astrid felt the sharp pang of jealousy. She quietly reminded herself that if her hips stuck out that much she would have nothing left of herself.

"It's Brussels and carrots," Astrid said as she pulled the sizzling pan from the hot oven. She set it on the stove with a clank.

"Brussels sprouts?" Hiccup asked with a squinted nose. "Gross."

"Maybe, but they're healthy so we're going to try them." Astrid inhaled the sweet, buttery garlic aroma. She really wanted them to taste good.

Hiccup set the table quickly, two plates and a fork for each of them, and Astrid set the pan down on a potholder between them. In a few short moments they sat down across from each other underneath the dim overhead light.

"It's been a while since we actually sat down to eat," Hiccup said. Both of his hands were flat on the table.

"Yeah," Astrid nodded. She scooped a large spoonful off the platter onto Hiccup's plate. Then she scooped her own.

"This is good," Hiccup said with a mouthful. He'd forked a Brussels sprout first. "It tastes like vegetable, but buttery."

"That would be the butter part," Astrid laughed. A forkful went into her mouth and it melted on her tongue. Thank god.

They ate in moderate silence, with sparse comments about the food or work. Then, as the plates emptied, Hiccup sighed and sat back in his chair.

"I got you something," he said simply.

"Oh?" Astrid licked her lips for the buttery remains. "It better not be chocolate."

He smiled. "It's not. It's way better. I think."

He scooted away from the table and vanished into the bedroom. He returned with a red gift box tied with a black ribbon. He stood on the edge of the kitchen, where the tile met hardwood, and held it out to her. She stood up and took the ornate box. It was lightweight, as if nothing were actually inside of it.

"I wanted to make you feel better about yourself, and after a few internet searches…I found an idea." Hiccup swallowed. He shuffled as she untied the ribbon, deliberately slow. "So…uh, if you don't like it the internet lied to me."

She smiled at the thought of him going out of his way for her. "Oh, I'm sure it'll be sweet."

The ribbon fell to the floor and she lifted the lid. Hiccup held his breath and clenched his hands. Her breath fell away. Inside the box, inside a layer of sparkled, black tissue paper, was red lingerie. Gapping, she set the box down on the kitchen table to take it out. Black embroidery stylized the cups and layer of see-through, silky mesh fell from the top. A matching pair of small underwear rested in the box.

"Hiccup…" Astrid said, barely a whisper.

"I know, I know, it's returnable. I-I didn't know what you would like and there was so much in the store and the saleslady seemed to know what she was talking about, she told me that breasts were sizable by fruit. I didn't know that. Yours got turned into oranges." He spoke fast and shuffled.

"I love it," she said. She held the sexy garment to her chest. "It's amazing!"

She grabbed the panties from the box and rushed past him to the bedroom.

"Where are you going?" Hiccup called after her.

"To try it on!" She closed the door. She tossed the red lingerie to the bed and quickly stripped. The bottoms fit, leaving the majority of her backside exposed, and the top took a moment to figure out. It fit much like a bra would, but with more straps holding it out. The mesh fell down to her hips, but opened down her middle, exposing her belly and everything below it.

It looked good. She spent a moment or two in front of the mirror, spinning and watching the mesh move. It hugged her chest low but several straps held her breasts in place.

"Are you done yet?" Hiccup asked on the other side of the door.

She inhaled and held her chest out as she swung the door open. She watched his face fall and his eyes panic to look at all of her. He tried several times to form words but none of them came out.

"How does it look?" she asked, leaning onto one foot and popping her hip.

"Amazing," he managed to say.

She took a step toward him but didn't make it through the doorway. His hands were on her, guiding her back into the bedroom.


	4. Personal Stories

A/N – If you didn't notice, the rating has gone from T to M. There is no sex in this chapter, but there's a lot of sex talk. So to be on the safe side, I uped it.

X

Title: Personal Stories

Astrid woke up to the rude brightness of the sun leaking in through their window. They needed thicker curtains. She rolled over to face Hiccup. He lightly snored, with one hand flat on his bare chest. It never ceased to amaze her how good she slept after a pleasantly strenuous evening of lovemaking. God, had he gotten better.

She sighed, knowing she wasn't going back to sleep. The clock read just after six. Hiccup would be getting up soon for work. She hadn't told him, but she had an interview that morning. It was just a waitressing job, but it was something. She hated relying on him for money all the time. She'd had an interview at the local library last week, and she was glad she didn't tell him about that one either. It hadn't gone so well.

"How good are you with people?" the gray-hair and tight-lipped librarian had asked. The real boss sit to her right, at the head of the table.

"Good, I waitressed all through school," Astrid had said. "I've defused more than a few situations."

"Mm-hm," the librarian said, writing something on her notes.

"So you are used to hearing people complain about things not being the way they think they should be?" the real boss asked, tapping her cheek with the end of her sharp Number 2 pencil.

"Yes," Astrid said, with more doubt than she would have liked. Surely there was another way to phrase that question with less words and more clarity. "With food, at least. Someone's steak is always undercooked, or overcooked, or their whatever isn't done exactly to their liking."

"Here people try to get out of paying fines," Librarian said, like she had somewhere very important to be. "Or stealing books."

"That's rude," Astrid said with a smile. "I can get rough if I have to."

Astrid laughed, but no one else had.

Astrid sighed and scooted closer to Hiccup. She didn't need those old bags, anyway. A busty waitress always made more. She could dig out that old push-up bra and that eyeliner.

Hiccup hummed in his sleep, murmuring something too low to make out.

"What is that, love?" Astrid asked softly. Occasionally, she'd gotten a word or two out of him while he slept, a rare time she'd gotten more. It was never anything substantial, mostly dream-rubbish.

"…the carpet…" Hiccup murmured. His fist clenched and unclenched.

"You want a new carpet?" Astrid asked, having too much fun.

"…window…Brenda…"

Astrid's smile faded and she sat up. "Who's Brenda?"

Hiccup mumbled and turned his head into the pillow.

"Babe, who's Brenda?"

"Go…work…leave…"

Astrid rubbed his chest. His skin was cold where the blanket hadn't covered. "Is Brenda there?"

"Hm-hm," Hiccup sighed.

"What is she doing?" Astrid asked, speaking low into his ear, in that sultry tone he likes.

"…leave..."

Astrid fingered the fine hair on his chest. He'll tell her when he wakes up, then. If on cue, the alarm clock sounded. Hiccup jumped and his hand routinely reached for the snooze button. Toothless stretched on his bed under the window, long black limbs playing in the sunlight. Like his master, he curled back up into his bed.

"Hey," Hiccup said groggily, his eyes on her exposed front. He chuckled, "Good morning."

"Good morning," Astrid smiled. It didn't matter how many times he saw them. Her boob power would never fade. All she had to do was flash him and she had his undivided attention.

"You're up early," Hiccup yawned.

"I slept great," Astrid smiled. She leaned down and flattened herself over him, kissing him on her way. "How was your night?"

"Fantastic," Hiccup smiled. "We should do that every night."

"Bring me flowers every night," Astrid smiled.

"Can they be the same flowers?" Hiccup chuckled.

She laughed, and kissed him again. His alarm beeped, and this time he shut it off. Reluctantly, he trudged toward the bathroom. She followed after him and joined him for a morning shower. This was her chance, she thought. He had no escape in the shower.

"You know how sometimes you talk in your sleep?" Astrid asked, folding her arms around his head to work the shampoo in his hair.

"Yeah?" Hiccup shrugged. "I mean, not really, because I'm asleep, but I've been told. It's probably stress. Having a real job sucks."

Astrid kissed his cheek, getting suds on her forehead.

"I assume that I did it again last night?"

"This morning, actually."

"I'm sure it was the making of the next great American Novel."

"Not exactly."

"What did I say?"

"A name."

Silence filled the shower as Hiccup processed this information. He peeked out of the water at her, one eye closed as suds ran down his eyelid. "And….it wasn't your name?"

"No." Astrid kept her eyes on the conditioner as she poured it out. She'd need to buy more in the next day or two.

"Oh," Hiccup cleared his throat. "Whose was it?"

"Brenda,"

Hiccup cough-laughed. "Really?"

"Who is she?" Astrid asked, trying not to be the nosy girlfriend, but she couldn't stop it.

"She's the intern at work," Hiccup said without hesitation. "I'm pretty sure she's sleeping with the boss. She's not stupid, but she doesn't know anything about the job. She keeps trying to get other people to do her work for her. She wears low-cut stuff and leans over the desk when she asks for something. Most of the men there have probably never seen boobs before and jump at the chance, but me and the gay guy can't stand her."

"Is that why you dream about her?" Astrid asked, leaning into him and running a hand through his hair. She didn't mean to poke, only tease him.

"Apparently," Hiccup chuckled. "She won't leave me alone. She keeps coming into my cubicle and tries to chat."

"Oh, she sounds exciting."

"She's not my type. She's one tanning session away from bursting into flames," Hiccup said with a laugh. "But don't worry, I purposefully brag to the other guys about my awesome girlfriend."

"Nothing raunchy, I hope."

Hiccup only laughed. "Of course not."

"What have you told them?" Astrid asked, seeing the red on his cheeks. "Hiccup Haddock what have you told them about me?"

"Oh, man is that the time? I'm running late." He reached for the shower door and hurriedly wrapped himself in a towel.

"You've got an hour!"

"I've got a meeting"!

"You're lying!"

"You're getting water on the tile."

Astrid shut the bathroom door and finished her own shower. Hiccup was dressed and downing a cup of coffee when she stepped out, wet hair down her shoulders and cold air pricking at the wet spots on her body.

"Have you been telling them sex stories?"

"What?" Hiccup asked, muffin sticking out of his mouth. "We were sharing stories, and I guess I'm one of the few men who've had sex with a non-inflated female. They are eager to learn the art."

"What have you told them?" Astrid asked again, determined to get the answer out of him.

"Nothing extremely personal," Hiccup said. "Only a tidbit here and there, like…uh, how to please a woman. That was an interesting conversation that I never want to have again. It was like Sex Ed."

Astrid crossed her arms.

"Okay, I might have told them…" He took a deep breath. "How you gasp and say my name…and claw my back."

"Hiccup!" Astrid shouted, her voice cracking. "That is personal!"

Hiccup coughed. "Oh, come on, are you saying you don't talk sex with Heather?"

"What?"

"You've never talked about sex with Heather? Don't lie, I've heard you. Or…I may or may not have read through your text messages." Hiccup laughed. "You girls get nasty."

"You went through my phone?" Astrid asked.

"Not really, I needed a number and my phone was dead. And…Heather's text conversation was right underneath it…so…I read the first one and I couldn't stop." Hiccup whistled. "I didn't know you thought that way about my penis."

"What?" Astrid blushed fiercely, trying to recall that conversation. "You're making that up."

"You named it," Hiccup laughed.

Her faced burned so hot she was sure it would melt. She knew that conversation. She'd been half-drunk and feeling frisky. Hiccup had been at work.

"That…was…a weird day," Astrid wrapped her towel tighter around her.

Hiccup laughed. "Okay, I'll see you tonight." He grabbed his jacket and his satchel and kissed her cheek.

"See you," Astrid said, still worried her face might melt.

Hiccup opened the door and turned, and with a straight face he said calmly, "Me and Cupcake Thunder are going to work."

Astrid's face grew hotter and she buried her face in her hands. "Just go."

Hiccup's laughter echoed down the hall.

Astrid laughed, too, but only after he couldn't hear her. Why had she done that? No more drinking alone. She dropped her towel in the bathroom floor and head back to the bedroom. Heather would love this story.


	5. An Interview

A/N – I thought I uploaded this a long time ago. I was looking through this story here, and I thought I'd gotten several more drabbles in from the Scenery-verse. I've got several planned and half-finished. So…here you go!

X

Astrid had arrived at Blue Bird, a favored restaurant by locals, a full ten minutes before her interview was scheduled. She walked with purpose inside, to the teenage boy manning the podium, who gave her a practiced smile.

"Welcome to Blue Bird, just one today? Table or booth?"

"I'm have an interview at three," she told him politely, folding her fingers together in front of her. People that crossed their arms looked aggressive. Hanging arms looked passive. She needed somewhere in-between.

The teenage boy sat her at a table against the back wall, away from the few midafternoon customers, and came back with an iced tea.

"Thank you," she smiled, like and good waitress-wannabe would. He said nothing and returned to the podium.

Astrid drummed her fingers against the condensation of the glass. Waitressing didn't make much, but fifty a week was more than nothing. She couldn't keep asking Hiccup for money. She felt so…useless. He said he didn't mind, but that didn't make her feel any better. He paid the rent, bought the food, paid the bills, and her bills, too.

Before they'd moved out here, she'd made the money. She knew that moving would mean finding another job, but for Hiccup, she'd done it. She had always supported herself. She couldn't go on like this, like some mooching, jobless, homeless person. If the unthinkable happened, and she and Hiccup broke up, then she would be on her own. She could go back to Missouri, but she didn't want to. Alvin would always welcome her back into the casino, but she didn't want to live that life anymore. She'd said goodbye to the escort days when she'd met Hiccup.

"Ah, you must be Astrid Hofferson," said a large-bellied man. He waddled up to the table and Astrid stood to shake his chubby hand. The bright ceiling light reflected off his balding head in streaks between his black comb-over.

"Yes, thank you for seeing me so quickly," she said. They both sat back into the booth.

"We like to keep things working efficiently, in a timely manner," he said. "I am Fred Barns, the manager of this location. I'm got your resume here and I see that you've waited before."

"Yes, I worked my way through college." Astrid smiled, using her perfected waitress face. It wasn't a total lie. She had worked as a waitress at Rachel's, even if the majority of her income had been from weekends at Alvin's hotel and casino in St. Louis.

"Ah, that's good to hear," he said, although she doubted he meant it. "And you've graduated, congratulations, in English, too. My son went that route. A bookworm."

"It's a bendable degree, so I'm told. A lot of communication, mostly.

"How so?"

"Putting thoughts into words and transferring those into written words, and likewise the other way around."

"Oh, that's an interesting way to look at it. All my son does is read and write these nonsensical papers."

"I did a number of those, too," Astrid said with a laugh, but the big manager wasn't humored.

"You're originally from the St. Louis area?" He asked, taking his eyes off the resume and folded his fat fingers together over it. He leaned onto the table, squishing his belly against it.

"No, I grew up in southern California, in a L.A. suburb," she said. He nodded his head slightly, as if she hadn't finished a sentence. She cleared her throat. "I went to college in St. Louis. I moved out here recently with my boyfriend. His family is from Maine."

"That's interesting," he said dully, twiddling his thumbs as if he couldn't wait to scoot out and away, shredding her resume in the back room. "What does he do?"

"He works with computers, at the R and T design company in Augusta," Astrid recited. It had taken her a while to get used to those words.

"I've heard of them," he nodded. He tapped his foot underneath the table.

This interview wasn't going well, but she wasn't sure it was entirely her fault. She inhaled, prepared to land this, whatever it took. "As far as working the floor goes, I'm a pro. I've dealt with unhappy customers, nosy customers, late-night college drunks, the homeless that think they can hide in the bathroom and no one will find them, and I've worked up quite the patience tolerance. I can handle children, lost old people, and have no reservations about blaming myself for customers' stupid mistakes and ignorance."

He looked at her then, with some semblance of admiration, or she'd like to believe. He sighed, and took his hands off of her resume. He picked it up and slid in underneath the paper below it. It didn't look familiar.

"It isn't your resume and experience that leaves me with more than a shadow of doubt." He looked down his nose at the paper. "We ran a background check, that you agreed to, and the results were less than desirable."

A rock fell into her stomach. He flattened the paper down on the table.

"You have quite the delinquent history," he said in a long sigh.

"When I was sixteen," she said. "That was ten years ago."

"That may be, but I've seen life sentences with less clutter on their rap sheet," he slid the background check toward her, pointing at the list of offensives with this index finger.

Astrid highly doubted that he knew what a life sentence rap sheet looked like, or even if such a thing existed, but she held her tongue.

"And, although I am terribly sorry to find out about your parents," he said as he leaned in closer and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Here at Blue Bird we hold our employees to a high standard. We don't want the sort of…scoundrel, pardon my language, that could cause us trouble and embarrassment."

"Excuse me?" Astrid fought to keep her voice even. "Tell me, Fred, what kind of 'scoundrel' do you think I am?"

He leaned back, lips tight. She leaned forward, elbows on the table. This interview was shot, had been since she walked in the door, so she might as well have a little fun before she cried her eyes out on her way to the corner liquor store.

"The type that worked her ass off to pay for a college degree so that I wouldn't have to work in a shit hole like this for the rest of my life? I've worked in places that your cheap ass with never be able to afford. I've served ninety dollar shots and walked away with a thousand dollars in tips, in one night." Astrid had stood up, but she did not remember doing so. The manager still sat, hands on the table, eyes wide and glued to her. All the tension of the past few months came pouring out of her and onto this sad man, and she had no reason to stop herself. "You don't think I can't call them back up and get that job back in a heartbeat? You know why they'd hire me back? Because girls like me are worth more a minutes than you make in a year."

Astrid stomped through the floor, through a waiting couple at the podium. She pushed the door with enough force that it banged against the doorstop and rattled the glass. She had made it halfway to the liquor store, intent on the Barefoot wine that had become a staple in her east-coast life, when the tears pushed against the back of her eyes.

She forced them back and skipped the store. She marched straight home and into their small apartment, and let the water flow as she slunk down onto the floor. She still had a half a bottle left. She'd be alright. Hiccup didn't come home for another two hours. She'd have it gone and in the trash by then, and after a shower she'd look just like she had when he'd left.


	6. Dinner Guests

A/N - I've had this half-done on my other computer for a good several months. My bad about not getting it out sooner, but life. It sneaks up and grabs your throat like a starving…something that grabs throats.

X

Astrid stared had at the small, unopened box in her hands. She waited until Hiccup had gone to work to make the necessary trip to the drug store several blocks away. The middle aged woman that worked the counter didn't mind her as she walked inside, but as soon as Astrid set the pregnancy test between them, her stare changed.

Her wrinkled eyes narrowed in judgment, squinted in pitiful scrutiny, like she were some saint and Astrid was the lowly street-walker.

Astrid balled her fists as the woman scanned the box. It beeped; the entire process was taking much too long. Astrid paid cash. No trace.

"Do you want a bag for this?" the woman asked with too much emphasis on _this_.

"No, thank you," Astrid said, as politely as she could.

Astrid took her change and stuffed it and the little box into her coat pocket. She felt the eyes of the woman on her as she shuffled through the glass doors and down the sidewalk. The chill penetrated her clothes.

This could make a terrible mess. She'd run out of birth control a month ago.

"Why not just go buy some more? How much do they cost?" Hiccup had asked simply over dinner.

Astrid sighed, partly from exasperation and agitation. But neither were his fault. "It's a medication. A doctor has to prescribe them."

"Oh," he hummed. He looked down at his plate and shuffled the green beans around.

She'd stood in front of one of those walk-in clinics the day before, but hadn't been able to go inside. A woman had walked in past her, smelling cabbage and cigarettes, with three children screaming at her heels. Maybe it had been her pride that turned her around.

She kept her eyes on the sidewalk until she arrived back at the apartment. Astrid shed her coat and hung it on the rack. She took the little box from the pocket, like some lightweight rock, burning through her palms. She took a deep inhale. Each step she took toward the darkened bathroom felt a mile. She shut the door and set the little box on the counter.

She waited, but her bladder said no. Fine. She could wait a little longer.

She tucked the little inside the large box of tampons. Hiccup would never look in there.

Astrid did her workout in the living room, showered, and then started on dinner. By the time the clock read five, dinner was on the table. She set the table and used the last moment before the door opened to arrange candles as a center piece.

"Yeah, it's apartment 4D," Hiccup said. He kicked off his shoes and the banged against the wall. He trudged around the corner, cell phone to his ear. He spotted Astrid, but made little notice of the table. He instead loosened his tie. "Yeah, eleven is fine. We'll be here."

Astrid waited until the phone was dropped onto the counter. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Hiccup shook his head. He ran a hand through his hair and left it a stuck-up mess. "My dad wants to visit."

"Oh," Astrid smiled. Hiccup didn't return her enthusiasm. "That's…bad?"

"He wants to bring his girlfriend."

"Oh," Astrid said.

Hiccup groaned loudly. He didn't change for dinner. He collapsed right into the chair. "It's not that I don't like my dad, but…the idea of him _dating_ anyone is just…gross."

"I don't know if it's gross," Astrid shrugged as she loaded Hiccup's plate. "I mean, everyone dates. _Especially_ if they have kids."

"Yeah…but my dad." Hiccup ran his hair through his hair again, making an even bigger mess of it. "The idea of a step mom freaks me out."

Astrid sat down across from him. "They're just dating, Hiccup. It's not like they're making wedding plans."

"Yeah, but you don't take your girlfriend to meet your family unless it's a thing," Hiccup said as forked a broccoli crown. He poked the plate with it a few times before nibbling off the end.

Astrid paused at his words. Hiccup finished his vegetable and started on another. She waited for some recognition that he had taken these words had sunk in. When it didn't seem they had, she said "When hadn't been dating very long when I met your father."

Hiccup's chewing slowed, but his eyes stayed on his plate. "I guess so."

Astrid waited for something, what she didn't know, but nothing more came. Hiccup kept eating. She pushed the green on her plate before she ate it.

"When is he coming?" Astrid asked. The apartment seemed too quiet with only the wish-wash of the washing machine.

"Next weekend," Hiccup said. "Saturday. He wants to do lunch."

"Here?" Astrid asked. She looked around their kitchen. "We'll need to clean a bit. It's not bad in here, it's just a bit dusty. I'll plan something to eat. Unless he wants to go out and eat?"

"I don't know what he wants to do."

Astrid was still eating when Hiccup finished. He stood up and mumbled, "I'm going to take a nap."

Astrid watched him limp into the bedroom and heard him flop down onto the bed. She finished her meal without him.

X

Lunch smelled fine, full of carbs and greens. A bottle of red wine chilled in the refrigerator. A coffee cake cooled on the counter. Hiccup paced by the window and the cleaned living room. Astrid stood in the bathroom, bladder full, but she couldn't make her hand reach for the little box. No, now wasn't a good time.

"It's just your father, Hiccup," Astrid shuffled her feet as she joined him in the living room. She sat on the couch and watched him pace. Her stomach knotted.

"And his girlfriend," Hiccup reminded her again, as he had countless times that day. He'd woken up before dawn, squirmed in bed until seven, waking her periodically, and finally getting up with a groan.

"Are you more worried about him or her?"

He sighed, blowing the air out slowly. "I don't know. Her, I guess." He shuffled. "I-I've always seen my dad by himself, you know? And it's just…weird."

"How so?"

"Growing up it was just him, you know? Other kids had moms, but I didn't. It was just how it was."

"It's just a change," Astrid said.

"Yeah," Hiccup nodded.

A heavy hand knocked on the door. Hiccup tensed at once. Stoick's muffled voice came from the other side. Astrid hopped to her feet when Hiccup didn't move. By Stoick's second knock, Astrid was at the door.

The door swung open and twp people stood in the hall beyond. Stoick she knew. But the brown-haired woman standing beside him, she did not.

"Ah, Astrid," Stoick said with a broad smile. "It's nice to see you again."

"Hi, Stoick," Astrid said as she stepped aside to let the two of them inside. She met the eyes of the woman. Stoick motioned to introduce her, a humble smile on his face, when Hiccup stepped around the corner, stopping dead in his tracks.

"Mom?!" Hiccup exclaimed.

X

Astrid sat on the couch with Valka. Stoick took the chair by the window. Hiccup paced.

"You're dating again?" Hiccup said again, repeating his father's words from a few moments before. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't find the right time," Stoick said.

"How long?" Hiccup exclaimed.

Stoick shook his head.

"How long have you been seeing each other and not telling me?" Hiccup looked between them, mother and then father, demanding an answer before he let them eat the dinner they'd prepared.

Stoick cleared his throat again and looked quickly at the floor. He mumbled something.

"What?" Hiccup asked, turning his heard, lowing his brows, and glaring at his father more than twice his size.

"It started after he called me about you," Valka interrupted.

Hiccup didn't say anything for a moment, but slowly turned back to his mother. "That was four years ago."

"Yes," Stoick said with a nod. "We wanted to wait to tell you together-"

"Why couldn't you just call?" Hiccup cut him off. "You know, a simple 'hey, by the way I'm seeing your mother' would have been fine."

"It's a little more than that, Son," Stoick said, having regained a bit of his size. "We're not just dating. We're getting remarried."

Hiccup stood stunned for a long moment before he muttered, "What?"

"We're remarrying." Stoick repeated, standing taller. "It's a long story, but I'll tell you about it over that dinner."

"Of course," Astrid stood up, but neither son or father looked at her. "It's right this way."

Astrid sat down at the table last. She caught Valka's eyes over the table, but the older woman looked away.

Astrid bit the inside of her cheek. His mother knew what she'd done. Hiccup had told her everything. She suddenly felt exposed and too warm. Did his father know, too?

Over the meal she'd slaved over, hoping to impress Mr. Haddock and his woman, Stoick informed them of how after the initial call to his estranged wife they had slowly reconnected. She had called him back to tell him how it went. He called. She called. They met up. They rediscovered that spark that had led to their marriage, their son, love rekindled. Valka wore a new diamond, which she looked down on proudly.

"Have you set a date?" Astrid asked, trying to shift the conversation in a positive direction.

"June," Valka said with a shy smile.

"That's another thing, Hiccup," Stoick said pointedly. "We're going to the Caribbean for the wedding. We both want you to be there."

Hiccup looked down at his plate. Astrid knew the first thing that he thought about was the money. Two round trips to the resort hotspot of the world? Not cheap. Hotels. Food. Fun. Not cheap at all. She caught Hiccup's worried hesitation. Life had been so much easier when she'd had money to waste.

"I can help you with the money, if you need it," Stoick said. "I want you there, Son. If it hadn't been for you I'd have never met your mother again."

This seemed to quell the storm Hiccup felt. He met his father's stare.

"It wouldn't be the same without you," Stoick said again.

"I'll be there," Hiccup said.

Astrid released a small sigh. She wanted Hiccup to go, too.

"Of course, that includes you, Astrid," Valka said, reaching a hand across the table and tapping Astrid's lightly.

"What would we do with Toothless?" Hiccup asked. Toothless had made his distaste of travel clear when he'd thrown up in the car tree times on the ride from Missouri to Maine.

"There's always a kennel," Valka said lowly. "He wouldn't like it but he'd have food and water and a safe place to sleep."

Hiccup nodded.

Again, an uncomfortable silence fell over the table. This time, Valka intervened. She took a sip of her wine and held the glass by the stem as she spoke cheerfully, "So, Astrid, have you and Hiccup given marriage any thought?"

Hiccup choked and Astrid suddenly lost her ability to swallow. She washed she food down with a large sip of wine, as did a red-faced Hiccup.

"No, we haven't," Astrid said first. Hiccup avoided her gaze.

"Ah," Valka said, seemingly unaware of the awkwardness of her statement.

The rest of dinner passed with vague wedding plans and simple ideas. They wanted a small wedding on the beach, close friends and family only. They'd give more details as they emerged; several months still remained before the summer.

The sky had darkened by the time Stoick and Valka departed. Hiccup shut the door behind them and the silence that followed made Astrid want to scream to get rid of it. Hiccup's eyes flickered over her and then away.

"So…yeah," Hiccup said. "That wasn't what I expected."

"What did you expect?"

"I don't know," Hiccup shrugged. He half-heartedly laughed. "A thirty year old with a bad blonde dye job and boobs bigger than her head."

"Seriously?"

"What? My dad isn't exactly poor." Hiccup grinned, but it didn't meet his eyes. "I remember going out for dinner with him when I was littler and women just fanned over him. I thought it was funny, but I get it now. He was single, rich, and not ugly. I…didn't think it would by my mother."

"I think it's sweet," Astrid said.

Hiccup met her eye again and quickly looked away. "I guess."

Astrid had thought about telling him there was a maybe-baby, but in that moment she declined sharing the news. She knew he would react negatively, by the downcast look caused by his parents. He was confused and she didn't want to add anymore to it. She would wait until there was no 'maybe.' Either there was or there wasn't. She would wait, test, and then decide.

X

Astrid nearly dropped it, the front door opened so fast. She hadn't been paying attention to the time. She spun around, cursing herself for not closing the bathroom door, holding the pregnancy test behind her back.

"I'm back," Hiccup announced from the entranceway. His boots clunked against the wall. He came into her view, mail in hand, and waved a fancy, cream-colored envelope in hand. "Looks like a wedding invitation."

"Oh," Astrid said. "It looks formal."

Hiccup's fingers tensed around the invitation. "What're you holding behind your back?"

"Nothing," Astrid said. "You surprised me, that's all."

Hiccup didn't let up his stare. He took a step toward her. He had all the trademarks of work-induced agitation and exhaustion, and the added effects of his parents' remarriage had only worsened his mood. He sighed heavily. "Really?"

"Yes."

She squeezed her hand around the test's handle, the side she hadn't peed on, wishing it to vanish.

"What is it?"

"It's nothing, I told you."

"If it's nothing why hid it?"

Astrid chewed on her lip, willing him to walk away even for a second, so she could hide it somewhere better.

"Astrid," Hiccup said, and tossed the mail into the kitchen. Most of it made it to the table. The wedding invitation slid off and floated to the floor, where it stuck underneath a chair leg. He groaned. "I'm not in the mood."

Astrid let a sigh go. He really wouldn't be in the mood in a few moments. She released the test and brought it around to the front. She held the white device in her palm. Hiccup looked down at it a moment, like he was trying to associate its alien shape with something known. The glower in his eyes shook her knees.

"That's nothing?" he finally asked.

"I don't know yet," Astrid said. "It takes five minutes."

Hiccup stared at the test like he might be able to make it explode, anything to get it out of his reality, out of existence.

"Hiccup?"

He snapped out of his trance, closed his eyes and buried his face in his hands. He groaned, rubbed his eyes, and let out an exhausted shout. " _That_ is nothing? _That_ is so not nothing! Astrid, why didn't you say something sooner?"

"Because I wasn't sure," Astrid said, shaking her head. She wiggled the test. "I'm still not."

Hiccup groaned and started to pace. "A baby. You can't have a baby. I-I'm not ready for that! I-I can't be a dad…I mean, a baby, and diapers, and crying…I can't afford a baby. And if you go to the doctor they'll know you don't have insurance, I'll have to pay for the entire thing. I don't even want to think about how much that'll be."

Astrid swallowed; she hadn't thought of that part it. Now that she had, it settled in her stomach like a shaking clog of dirt.

"I wanted to find another job, move, I don't know where. All of that will be harder with an attachment. I'm not ready. I'm not ready to be a dad. I don't even feel like an adult half the time! Oh, what are we going to do? I wouldn't feel right getting rid of it…that's so…urg!"

Hiccup threw his arms into the air. He huffed, turned to look at her, frustration and irritation showing through his tired eyes.

Astrid looked down at the cause of his outbreak. "Five minutes are up."

Hiccup inhaled sharply.

Astrid held it out to him, fist closed over the results. Hiccup opened his hand and she dropped it. Without speaking, she turned and walked back into the bedroom and closed the door behind her.

She didn't know what she'd wanted. When that blue minus sign appeared, the rock in her stomach jumped up into her throat, clogging her words and pushing them into oblivion. She fell into her side of the bed and snaked underneath the covers. She pulled them over her head.

The bedroom door opened, and closed again. Hiccup's socked feet padded across the floor. They paused at the hamper and in went something, judging by the pat on the foot, it was his socks. He took off his button-up and hung in back into the closet, good for another wear, and unbuttoned his jeans. They landed on the floor with a plop.

Astrid remained still while he undressed. His bare feet patted across the floor to the bedside, his side, and his weight gently sat on the edge. He lifted his legs and slid them underneath the covers.

He sighed.

A hand tentatively touched her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I-I didn't mean to…freak out like that. I just, kind of lost it. I-I'm not ready for a baby. I can't lie, I'm relieved. But, Astrid, why didn't you say something to me?"

"I didn't want to freak you out."

"So if you had been…pregnant, what would you have done?"

"I don't know."

The hand on her shoulder moved to her back. He finagled his way underneath the covers. "I-I would have been there, you know, with you."

Hiccup wiggled in beside her. In the darkness under the blanket she could see his scruffy hair, messed by the bed.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I guess I'm not ready, either," she whispered.

Hiccup moved closer to her, snaking his arms around her. She moved closer to him and snuggled into his chest. His heart beat under her touch.

"What are you going to do about your parents' wedding?"

Hiccup sighed. "I'll have to go, regardless. Maybe they'll serve alcohol there. You want to go and suffer with me?"

"I'll have to go dress shopping. I don't have anything to wear."

Hiccup laughed. "At least you won't be wearing a suit."

"I could. I think I could pull it off. A nice tailored suit."

Hiccup snuggled into her neck. "I bet you would."


End file.
